Conventionally nail polish removers contain organic solvents, such as acetone, alkyl acetate, acetonitrile or combinations thereof, as active ingredients. These solvents have undesired properties including volatility and flammability, and they are highly toxic and extremely malodorous. They can also be harmful, irritating, drying, and damaging to the skin and nails when used as nail polish removers. Known nail polish removers are often allergenic and there are no or few non-allergenic nail polish removers available. Furthermore, nail polish removers containing said abovementioned organic solvents used in connection of artificial nails, such as acrylic, gel, or silk, linen or fibreglass wraps can weaken or dissolve the resins or sculpting products used to form or bond them to the natural nail or both.
A benign nail polish remover based on ethyl lactate, a biodegradable compound with low toxicity, is described in WO9416671. This compound, however, has a low flash point of only 46° C. and is irritating to respiratory system and may inflict serious damage to the eyes. Various agents for removing nail polish have also been described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,268,642 A, U.S. Pat. No. 2,197,630 A and US 2004038847 A1.